About Us

Our Story…

Like any good business idea, it stemmed from a passion ~ Cyndie & CJ’s was wine. With little knowledge of the fermentation process, what was known was the vision of that deep ruby Cabernet in our favorite footed glass, and the joy it brought us.

Cyndie and a couple friends had been frequenting a place where you could bottle your own wine. After about 4 years of stocking the cellar, she and CJ decided to turn a hobby into a business of their own. They both had other careers, but Cyndie’s sister Lisa was willing and able to ‘man the fort’. The name was conceived, the paperwork was filed and the location secured. In July 2010, the Washington Street Wine House was established. Cyndie & Lisa would be the business and creative minds, while CJ would be the head winemaker and ‘do everything else’ guy as his time would allow.

Always very like-minded with similar taste and style, Cyn & Lisa had a vision of what we wanted the winery to be. Clean and uncluttered, without too much ‘stuff’. When the store opened, we were focused on selling just WINE and the few tools and gadgets required…. Corkscrews, wine glasses, foil cutters, gift bags, bottle stoppers, etc. We quickly learned a couple things; people like ‘stuff’ (the sassier, the better) and to be truly successful, we needed to focus less on what WE wanted and be more receptive to what our valued customer wants. The wine remains our focus but the collection of wine related gifts and accessories has evolved and continues to grow and change with the trends of the day.

Our Name…

WASHINGTON STREET WINE HOUSE, A Petit Winery.

Upon occasion, it’s been brought to our attention that we’ve misspelled ‘Petit’… not exactly. Indeed, it would have an ‘e’ on the end if we were using the proper French spelling, however Cyn & Lisa’s maiden name is ‘Petit’. Licensed as a Small Winery, it seemed very fitting to incorporate ‘Petit’ into the name of the business, even without the ‘e’.